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Why We Broke Up (Compact Disc)

November 2011 Indie Next List

“Min has broken up with Ed and is writing him a letter chronicling their relationship and all the reasons that it has come to an end. To prove to herself and her friends that the relationship is over, Min has put together all of the tokens she accumulated during the brief relationship. The box and the letter are Min's goodbye present for Ed. Each chapter begins with an illustration of an item in the box, followed by the chapter of the relationship associated with it. What better way to get over your high school relationship than reading Min's story and adding your own?”
— Marika McCoola, Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, MA

Description

I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

About the Author

DANIEL HANDLER is the author of the novels The Basic Eight, Watch Your Mouth, Adverbs and, most recently, Why We Broke Up, a collaboration with award-winning illustrator Maira Kalman that won a Michael J. Printz Honor. Under the name Lemony Snicket he has written the bestselling series All the Wrong Questions as well as A Series of Unfortunate Events, which has sold more than 60 million copies and was the basis of a feature film. Snicket is also the creator of several picture books, including the Charlotte Zolotow Awardwinning The Dark, illustrated by Jon Klassen. His newest picture book is 29 Myths on the Swinster Pharmacy, illustrated by Lisa Brown. He lives with his family in San Francisco.

Gustav Janouch (1903-1968) was a young poet whose father worked at the same insurance company as Kafka. A certain amount of controversy has been aroused by his "Conversations with Kafka" some have been skeptical that any human being can talk the way Kafka does in this book, but both Max Brod and Dora Diamant considered it authentic.

Khristine Hvam is a professional voice artist whose work includes audiobooks, video games, and voice-overs, including as Professor Juniper in the "Pok mon" television series.